The Weekly Forum - 30 January 2026

Forum for Democracy has always taken a keen interest in foreign policy. After all, it was founded in 2016 to campaign against the EU association agreement with Ukraine. Since then, it has been not just euro- but also NATO-sceptic. Seldom, however, has there been such a magisterial presentation of the underlying philosophy of that policy as the one delivered this week by Ralf Dekker to Parliament. As Ralf magnificently explains, the bottom line is national interest, whereas Dutch and European foreign policy (and other policies) seem instead to be dictated by very destructive ideology, abolishing identity through immigration, ensuring geopolitical irrelevance through parasitism on NATO, and stifling freedom through bureaucratic tyranny.

Read Ralf Dekker’s speech here

FVD International’s director, John Laughland, was Ian Proud’s guest on his successful podcast, The Peacemonger, this week. Ian is an ex-Foreign Office diplomat who spent time in Moscow and who disagrees with the prevailing Western policy on Russia. John and Ian’s conversation ranged over a large number of issues, essentially concentrating on Europe and its structural decline. John insisted that the EU and its national governments are trapped in a downward spiral of decay, the bureaucratic doom loop meaning that the system pushes ever more mediocre people to the top, who in turn accelerate the collapse. Just like the old Soviet Union!

Watch John’s interview here

One of FVD’s MPs, Gideon van Meijeren, is the victim of a political trial. He was accused in 2023 of incitement to violence and the judicial procedure has been going on ever since. It is blatantly political. The appeal against his initial conviction was held this week. To cut a long story short, the Prosecution case is based on misrepresentations (otherwise known as lies) but above all on politics: Gideon is a suspect because he suspects the government of being dishonest. The Dutch security services argue, absurdly, that anyone who does not trust the government is seditious. The obsession with security which now dominates European politics should remind us that the old KGB was the Committee for State Security.

Read about Gideon’s political trial here

We had a particularly charming and intelligent guest on The Forum this week, the prominent geopolitical commentator, Carl Zha, to discuss Mao Tse Tung and modern China’s perception of him. If you missed it, you missed out badly.

Watch The Forum here